If they hired someone with those credentials, and they stay, no, they're not a McDojo as long as they keep dark blue belt away from teaching anyone.

It's been a while since all of this. The mcdojo ended up closing shop mid last year. There is another guy in my area that is teaching BJJ. A few of his students have left him after spending one session with a group of guys I train with. They said they had no idea that BJJ could be so detailed. WTF? This guy was showing them a technique and smack them in the back of the head if they did not do it right? Huh? Still they stayed with him until he started class and took out a BJJ instructional book. He took it out and started to teach them right out of the book.

I have offered to start teaching a group of his ex-students and a few wrestlers at the local gym. I spoke with my instructor and he gave me the OK to teach and offer an affiliation with his schools. I want to start a school but don't have all the $$. Until then, I'll meet them at the gym and train until the gym kicks us out. LOL. A little off subject, but any ideas on how to raise the $$?

There has been a book review about one or two months ago (more two) about small dojos and revenue, it got good reviews from omega and others, you might wana check it out, also the thread was very interesting.

I honestly think this is the main reason Rorion owns the rights to 'Gracie jiu-jitsu'. People give the guy alot of flak, but he really does have respect for his families art and does not want to see it get watered down like many other arts have been once they achieved popularity in the USA. I'd love to see how guys who train under one of these guys would do at any BJJ tournament (if they even compete).

And then there was the Gracie University... learn and test via video all the way up to your BB (actually the BB test is in person...)

BJJ Affiliate Programs

In addition to the bullshido of online and video testing, affiliate programs need a close lok as well. They sport the name of some world known BJJ guy like a Gracie, and you get to the school and find out classes are taught by a pruple belt, if you're lucky, and the owner of the clu might not even havea belt at all, and that they are afiliated with some guy, which basically means the pay him a fee like a franchise and he comes out to teach a few times per yera for an additional fee.

It's one thing to be an affiliate if you are one of his black belts and you open a school.....maybe even a brown, but that is seriously one thing to look out for. Affiliate schools can be a serious scam. Oh, and by the way, in the ones that I know of you only hav eto be a ble belt, and you don't even have to have a belt FROM THAT PERSON. In other words, you could have your belt from one guy, and be affiliated with some other guy that had nothing to do with your development in jiujitsu.

If oy uknow what ou are getting into and are cool with it, that's one thing. But most people don't know the difference that havne't been around martial arts or the jiujitsu business before. If I already know that xxx Gracie only visits the school twice a year and there is a hefty fee to be in that "seminar", and that the real instructors are blue and purple belts, that is on me to make the decision. But most advertising will just say, "xx Gracie Academy" or something, and you don't find out the truth until you've signed up and start asking, "How come Prof Gracie isn't teaching tonight?"

And then there was the Gracie University... learn and test via video all the way up to your BB (actually the BB test is in person...)

I don't think anyone that earns anything through the Gracie University will do anything but lose in a tournament for a few reasons:
1. Tournaments test athletic ability. You can't trained athletically thogh an online school.
2. The Gracie university already states that they do not do sport jiujitsu.
3. Tournaments are sport, and just like in any sport, you have to train and cross train, regularly, and to exhaustion. That is well beyond the scope of leraning the techniques.

Overall I am not apposed to the Gracie University. I think it can definately use some improvement, but I respect the attempt to have a core curriculum and reasonable testing standards. Most BJJ you don't know if or when you'll be promoted or what is expected at the next level, much less how to get there. I don't like the though of paying good money for years on end with no end in site. Most Americans want rank. Rank is an acknowledgement of learned and demonstrated skills. It is a standard to base what someone knows. Too much of BJJ rank has had to do with athleticism. That is fine for people with the time to devote to being atheltes, but most working people don't have that kind of time. They want to know the skills necessary to defend themselves and the rank to know where they stand in the standard. They don't necessarily want to be athletes i nthe process.
Judo too has this issue sometimes, where you can get promoted much faster if you compete. But there is still a track for those that do not or cannot compete. It just takes longer.
I don't se the point of it taking 10 years to get a black belt in anything. Even the original Gracie borthes had black belts in 3 or so years, so who are they to make everyone else take 10 or more? And this is before Carlos and Helio modified what they learned (judo) for street fighting and leverage, etc. It should take 3-5 years to earn a black belt in just about any martial art. Now, mastery is another story. In that case 10 years makes since.

I don't think anyone that earns anything through the Gracie University will do anything but lose in a tournament for a few reasons:
1. Tournaments test athletic ability. You can't trained athletically thogh an online school.
2. The Gracie university already states that they do not do sport jiujitsu.
3. Tournaments are sport, and just like in any sport, you have to train and cross train, regularly, and to exhaustion. That is well beyond the scope of leraning the techniques.

Overall I am not apposed to the Gracie University. I think it can definately use some improvement, but I respect the attempt to have a core curriculum and reasonable testing standards. Most BJJ you don't know if or when you'll be promoted or what is expected at the next level, much less how to get there. I don't like the though of paying good money for years on end with no end in site. Most Americans want rank. Rank is an acknowledgement of learned and demonstrated skills. It is a standard to base what someone knows. Too much of BJJ rank has had to do with athleticism. That is fine for people with the time to devote to being atheltes, but most working people don't have that kind of time. They want to know the skills necessary to defend themselves and the rank to know where they stand in the standard. They don't necessarily want to be athletes i nthe process.
Judo too has this issue sometimes, where you can get promoted much faster if you compete. But there is still a track for those that do not or cannot compete. It just takes longer.
I don't se the point of it taking 10 years to get a black belt in anything. Even the original Gracie borthes had black belts in 3 or so years, so who are they to make everyone else take 10 or more? And this is before Carlos and Helio modified what they learned (judo) for street fighting and leverage, etc. It should take 3-5 years to earn a black belt in just about any martial art. Now, mastery is another story. In that case 10 years makes since.

On what basis do you make these claims? How much BJJ experience do you have? Have you ever competed?

I've been taking BJJ for over 7 years and have competed in multiple tournaments. It appears to me you have little to no idea what you're talking about.

The cold hard reality is that the belt rank system is a measure of ability within BJJ. That means that if you don't have the time to put into being a black belt then you won't get one.
Just because you WANT to be a black belt doesn't mean you deserve one. If you put in the time to learn it, and put in the effort to compete and demonstrate that you can apply it, then you have the chance to EARN a black belt.

I am a white belt, I expect to be a white belt until I consistently hang with and occasionally beat blue belts in my weight class.
Once I have that I expect to be there until the same happens for purple belts, then brown, and then if I'm lucky, and work hard, black.

If I trained harder maybe it would happen faster, but for now I train as much as I can train and that's that.

I don't think anyone that earns anything through the Gracie University will do anything but lose in a tournament for a few reasons:
1. Tournaments test athletic ability. You can't trained athletically thogh an online school.
2. The Gracie university already states that they do not do sport jiujitsu.
3. Tournaments are sport, and just like in any sport, you have to train and cross train, regularly, and to exhaustion. That is well beyond the scope of leraning the techniques.

Overall I am not apposed to the Gracie University. I think it can definately use some improvement, but I respect the attempt to have a core curriculum and reasonable testing standards. Most BJJ you don't know if or when you'll be promoted or what is expected at the next level, much less how to get there. I don't like the though of paying good money for years on end with no end in site. Most Americans want rank. Rank is an acknowledgement of learned and demonstrated skills. It is a standard to base what someone knows. Too much of BJJ rank has had to do with athleticism. That is fine for people with the time to devote to being atheltes, but most working people don't have that kind of time. They want to know the skills necessary to defend themselves and the rank to know where they stand in the standard. They don't necessarily want to be athletes i nthe process.
Judo too has this issue sometimes, where you can get promoted much faster if you compete. But there is still a track for those that do not or cannot compete. It just takes longer.
I don't se the point of it taking 10 years to get a black belt in anything. Even the original Gracie borthes had black belts in 3 or so years, so who are they to make everyone else take 10 or more? And this is before Carlos and Helio modified what they learned (judo) for street fighting and leverage, etc. It should take 3-5 years to earn a black belt in just about any martial art. Now, mastery is another story. In that case 10 years makes since.

This is one of the biggest problems with people taking martial arts these days I'm probably gonna get flamed for this but forget it.Martial arts and combat sports are for exactly what the name implies fighting and athletics if you don't want to fight (like a lot of the people at my mcDojo) or you don't want to put forth an effort to being an athlete then take up break dancing or ballet. People want rank and they want it fast they want to be able to say I'm a black belt and don't care if they really earn it or not. Real martial arts is about work commitment dedication discipline ,its about going through mental and physical agony and coming out stronger people don't wanna go through that but they wanna act like they have.If you cant put yourself through these tests and trials then don't call yourself a martial artist.To address this statement "It should take 3-5 years to earn a black belt in just about any martial art. Now, mastery is another story." the black belt is a symbol of mastery thats exactly why it should take so long to earn one especially if you don't intend on fighting and competing to show that you have earned the right to have one sooner than everyone else. thats why bjj is such a well structured martial art with their ranking system if you want to come to class and be lazy thats fine you will be a white belt for 8 years or if you want to push yourself as an athlete you can be like bj penn and be a black belt in four years its all up to the student. In my opinion its better to not know a set date that you will accomplish your goal of becoming a black belt because it makes you work harder and truly appreciate every belt you get in between. Thats just my opinion on the matter God bless